Cargo carriers likely to continue ground handling

New Delhi: The government will likely allow cargo carriers to continue handling their own cargo at airports following a representation from them last week, according to a senior official.”Cargo carriers will be allowed to do their own ground handling and airport developers won’t be involved,” the official with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said on conditions of anonymity.
The move comes after cargo carriers told government last week that it would become difficult and uneconomical for them if the ground handling of cargo is delegated to airport developers as planned under a new ground handling policy scheduled to come into effect Jan 1.
Airport developers have been approached by both foreign and domestic ground handling companies for sub-contracts.
Like the cargo carriers, airlines too insist on handling their own cargo. The representation from cargo carriers including Blue Dart have criticised the proposed policy, saying it ignored the concerns of the air cargo industry.
It said cargo handling is a specialised operation, and handing it over to airport developers would increase their overheads and decrease operational efficiency.
“Air cargo is a specialised form of cargo, which requires timely deliveries and guarantee on consignment, besides creating a customer friendly network,” said a Blue Dart official.
16/09/08 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Categories: Airports Sep 2008, Cargo Sep 2008